My ShadowMy Love

by Sharon Horton

  Easing herself out of bed, she went into the bathroom. Her watch told her it was eleven-thirty. Apparently she wouldn’t be spending the night with Kevin tonight. She grinned at the thought of poor Steve being thrust into guard duty in place of Rick who was now sleeping soundly. Well, she’d find some way to repay Steve, but she knew he really didn’t mind. Rick and he were like brothers. Rick would have done the same for him.

  After a hot shower, Cassie realized she didn’t have a change of clothes. She was only supposed to be gone a few hours. She sifted through a rack of Rick’s shirts for a solution to the problem.

  Light from the bathroom fell on Rick’s face. Cassie thought that, sound asleep, he looked like a little boy. The light woke him and he looked up to see her watching him. He smiled, but she didn’t respond. Even awake, he still reminded her of a little boy, but now he looked like a scared and lost little boy.

  She stared a moment, trying to phrase what she needed to say. Lori hadn’t told her what happened, but Cassie knew Rick well enough to know who it probably involved. Rick patted the bed and Cassie sat next to him. Her heart pounded as she took his hand in hers and looked in his eyes.

  “I’m not sure what happened today, Rick, but I think it had something to do with Luther.” She shook her head quickly when his response was positive. “Don’t tell me, it doesn’t matter. What matters now is what I have to say to you.”

  “Sass—” Rick’s voice tried to gain control, but Cassie stopped him.

  “I need to know that I can depend on you,” she continued keeping her eyes on his. “I don’t mean I want you to stop working. What I’m saying is I’m not going to live with the fear that every time you hear of a tall man in the area you’re going to go after him. We have a child coming soon, Rick, and he’s going to need you as much as I do. You have to convince me that I can trust you to be there for us and not put yourself at constant risk in order to go after Luther.”

  Again Rick tried to interrupt, but Cassie wouldn’t let him. She held his hand, but resisted when he tried to hold her. Her voice was weak, yet she continued without hesitation.

  “Even if Luther is one day allowed to roam free someone will eventually get him. Maybe it’ll be you or even me, but it has to be because he confronted one of us first and not because you went out looking for him.”

  Inhaling deeply, Cassie paused only long enough to gather the courage to say what she never thought herself capable of. “If I can’t trust that you won’t spend the rest of your life chasing fears, I’ll have to leave you. You can’t ask our child or me to watch you die. I love you too much for you to die because you felt you needed to avenge me. I would end up hating you and that would kill me.” Her eyes closed. “I once begged you to love me, now I’m begging you to not make me hate you.”

  Rick listened as Cassie fought him with the only weapon she had, her heart. Her heart was his heart he thought, watching the tears she had avoided while talking find their way through her closed eyes. He smiled thinking how this gentle warrior had just fought the biggest battle of her life and won the war.

  Slowly, Rick sat up and pulled Cassie to him. Taking the chain off his neck, he removed Cassie’s wedding ring and put it on her finger. “Tonight, you’re my wife.”

  In the hopes their time together would last longer, they didn’t sleep anymore that night.

  * * * * *

  As the sun woke the seagulls, Rick and Cassie were already awake. Wrapped in a blanket they watched frothy waves crashing onto the beach. They were happy and knew that if they spoke, the conversation would lead to Cassie’s departure. So they avoided speech and let the water do the talking for them until Rick finally broke the silence.

  “Sass,” he said just loudly enough to be heard over the ocean. “Did you mean it?”

  Cassie’s back stiffened. She wondered if he would bring the subject up once he had time to think about her ultimatum. She delivered a fine speech and he hadn’t questioned it, or so she thought. Turning around within the confines of the blanket, she rested her cheek against his heart.

  “No,” she whispered. “I wanted to believe I could leave you if you argued with me, but there’s no way I really could. I’m afraid of losing you, but I’m more afraid of being without you. You may have started out as my shadow, but now you’re my love. I’ll never leave you, ever.” She tried to smile. “You’re stuck with me, renegade man.”

  In an attempt to hide his relief, Rick kissed Cassie’s forehead and then increased his hold on her. She had kept him guessing ever since meeting, but this guessing game had to end. Thankfully, it had ended with both of them as the winners, she had gotten his attention and he was assured she wouldn’t leave.

  The morning grew brighter and Rick knew that would soon bring Lori to take Cassie back to town. As if reading his mind, Lori was standing behind him at the top of the cliff looking down at what appeared to be one person sitting on the beach. She knew better, though, and smiled. Walking down the steps, Lori started whistling to make her presence known. It worked, Rick groaned and Cassie closed her eyes in the hopes that maybe it was their imagination.

  “Trouble ahead,” Rick said loudly. “Hide.”

  “Won’t do you any good, babe,” Lori said with mock sarcasm. “I know all the hiding places. Come on Cassie, kiss your husband goodbye, it’s time you got back to your boyfriend.” She turned and ran to avoid being hit with the piece of seaweed that Rick threw at her.

  Though she purposely resisted, Rick pulled Cassie to her feet. Once standing, he brushed the hair away from her face. “If I asked you not to go back to that house, would you stay?”

  “Yes.”

  Rick exhaled loudly. “Thank you. I don’t want you to go back, but I’m happy knowing you’d stay if I asked you to.” Smiling slyly, he added, “But, you tell Joe Jones if I catch him sleeping in that bed again he’ll have to change his name to Josephine.”

  “I love you,” Cassie whispered, but before Rick had time to reply, she was jogging toward Lori.

  He watched them climb the stairs and waved to Cassie when she turned to look back at him. She blew him a kiss and disappeared from view. With a heavy sigh, Rick looked down to where Cassie had just stood. Then he smiled. Boldly stated within the outline of a heart, Cassie had managed to leave Rick a note. Etched in the sand, she’d written four perfect words—My shadow, my love.

  In the beach house, Rick found Elena at the sink washing the few dishes he and Cassie had used. She nodded at him, but didn’t speak. He knew Steve wouldn’t be returning until evening, so he headed to the bedroom to attempt to catch up on the sleep he had lost while Cassie was with him. He sighed heavily when he saw her wedding ring on the pillow. Placing it back on the chain around his neck, Rick lay down on the side of the bed Cassie had occupied and closed his eyes.

  * * * * *

  The ride was silent. Cassie seemed happy and that was enough for Lori. Not far from the edge of town, a familiar figure stood to the side of the road. The previous day the familiar figure had been Rick, today it was Steve. The van pulled over and he climbed in.

  “Hey babe,” he said softly.

  “Hey sweetheart,” Cassie answered before Lori had time to open her mouth.

  Steve closed his eyes and shook his head. “I’m not even going ask how your night was.” He grinned. “Well, Kevin was up bright and early painting the trim around the front windows, so I know he’s all right.”

  “He didn’t think anyone would be upset if you didn’t come back last night, Cassie,” Lori informed her. “Just remember we had car trouble.”

  “Yes, Mom,” Cassie quipped.

  “Steve is right. I’m not going to ask how your night was either.” Lori laughed rolling her eyes. “Rick’s okay, though, right, Cassie?”

  “Yeah, he’s fine. Me too, in case you’re interested. I don’t think he’ll sneak off and hunt down Luther’s people anymore if that’s bothering you.”

  The van parked in front of the big house, Lori looked at
Cassie. “I was scared yesterday, Cass. Really scared. That’s why I took you to him. Are you sure he won’t do anything…Rick?”

  “She means stupid,” Steve chimed in.

  “I know what she means,” Cassie said evenly. “And yes, I’m sure. Do you really think he’d go off looking for anyone and leave me here alone?”

  Lori lowered her eyes. “You didn’t see him yesterday. He scared the hell out of me. His emotions took over him and he almost lost it.”

  “Almost doesn’t count. Trust me, he’s fine,” Cassie whispered.

  Steve put his hand on Cassie’s shoulder and squeezed gently. “You sure you’re not trying to convince yourself, little girl?”

  Without answering, Cassie got out of the van and walked to where Kevin was waiting on the porch. Not bothering to wave she went inside leaving Steve and Lori to hope Cassie was right about their headstrong friend.

  Curled up on the bed, Cassie fought the urge to scream. Rick wouldn’t leave, she knew that, but his friends doubted him and that scared her. She still didn’t have all the details about the Renegade Rick days, but what if there were hidden things in Rick that would surface? Would they be able to keep Rick safe from himself if necessary? Her thoughts were disturbed when Kevin entered the room.

  “Is Rick all right, honey?” he asked from the doorway. “No one’s up yet, so we’re safe about last night. What’s wrong, you look upset.”

  “I just want to go home, Kevin. Actually, I want my home. Rick and I were supposed to be building our dream house. How’re Natalie and the baby?”

  Kevin smiled and gave her a thumbs-up. “They’re great, so far. She named the kid Greyson. Oh, and we don’t have to worry about Dr. Miller. Last night after you left, I was introduced to him. He didn’t act the least bit funny. I’ve changed a lot since I was fourteen so I didn’t think it would be a problem with him recognizing me.”

  “Unless your dad comes back here,” Cassie reminded. “Then we’re both dead meat.”

  Kevin frowned. “If anyone tries to take you, I’ll kill them.”

  This was Cassie’s day for not answering people when they said things she didn’t like. Instead of responding to Kevin’s threat she lay down on the bed and buried her face in the pillow hoping he would leave her alone. He did.

  Chapter Thirteen

  When she felt better, Cassie headed for the room where Natalie and the baby were. Inside, she stepped lightly to see baby Greyson. He slept soundly although he was in an incubator.

  To control the fear she felt grasping her, Cassie put her hand on top of the baby’s enclosure. “Fight, little guy,” she whispered.

  As she turned to leave, she saw Dr. Winthrop standing in the doorway. Since Natalie was also asleep, he motioned Cassie out of the room.

  Gently, he took her hand. “I know you’re afraid your baby may have the same problems as this one does, but there’s no reason to think that and I don’t want you to worry yourself sick. The best thing you can do right now is to take good care of yourself and focus on the positive.”

  “Positive?” Cassie asked, nearing sarcasm. “That’s a hard thing to do around here.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Damn. She had just said a very wrong thing. “I mean with all these frightened girls around here, they tend to say things that scare me.” Lowering her head to hide the fear that she may have just endangered herself, she added carefully, “I want to go stay with some friends up north, but Joe doesn’t want me traveling because of the baby.”

  “You’re thinking of leaving?” Dr. Winthrop asked. “I don’t think that would be wise if you have no one to care for you. I wish Matt, Sarah and the others hadn’t left.”

  The other couples! Cassie had almost forgotten about them. “Why did they leave? Do you know where they went?”

  Natalie woke and called out, distracting Dr. Winthrop so that Cassie lost her opportunity to question the doctor further. If this man was behind the disappearances, he was very good at hiding it. Cassie felt no threat from him at all, but that wasn’t enough to discount him from suspicion. Someone was taking babies and mothers from this place and maybe they’d started taking couples, as well. She needed to search the doctors’ offices and since Dr. Winthrop was busy with Natalie and had checkups to do afterward, maybe now was a good time to snoop.

  To her relief Cassie found Dr. Winthrop’s office door unlocked. Once inside she had to wait for her eyes to adjust to the darkness since she couldn’t risk turning on the light. For some reason, Dr. Winthrop preferred to keep the shades down permanently. The only light available was from an aquarium holding tropical fish.

  This being a doctor’s office Cassie wasn’t surprised to find the room surrounded by bookcases filled with books and magazines. The room was neat and organized. The few papers on the desk were stacked and held under a paperweight. Pictures on the wall were perfectly straight and even the lab coats were hung on hangers before being placed on the coat stand. Searching this office would be a breeze, Cassie thought as she opened the top desk drawer.

  * * * * *

  “I don’t believe this,” Cassie whispered aloud an hour later. She had looked carefully through every drawer in his desk and file cabinets and found nothing to imply Dr. Winthrop had anything to do with illegal activities. He was either very careful or completely innocent. With those being the only possibilities, Cassie knew to keep looking.

  From her discussions with the other mothers-to-be, she learned of too many babies and girls disappearing over the years. There had to be someplace in this dark room where she could find something. The only place left to search was the closet.

  Opening the closet door, Cassie thought she heard something but dismissed it as imagination. The closet had a light inside and, turning it on, she found a safe. She also heard another noise, but now it was from the hallway. Quickly turning off the light, she closed the door and waited. Should have quit while you were ahead, she heard Rick’s voice admonish in her mind. And he was right, she should have left after finding nothing in the office and returned to the safe at a later time. Too late now. Someone was in the office.

  In the dark Cassie remained motionless until the feel of something crawling up her leg sent her foot crashing against the wall. She then heard footsteps approaching the closet door. She held her breath. At least she had the element of surprise on her side. The door opened just a crack, but before Cassie had the chance to move, a mouse ran out of the closet, bringing a soft chuckle from the person Cassie was hiding from.

  To her surprise and relief, the closet door shut, leaving her again in darkness. Then the sound of footsteps told her that the individual had left the office.

  After waiting a few seconds, Cassie emerged from the closet and headed straight for the door out of the office. But as she turned the knob she noticed an envelope had appeared on the desk.

  The now opened envelope revealed a large amount of cash along with a letter stating that Williams Pharmaceuticals was pleased to be of service to Greyson House and they hoped their generosity would be remembered in the future. The letter meant one thing to Cassie—someone could be expecting a payoff for that generosity. But, would that payoff include the handing over of young women and their babies?

  Was this proof that Kevin’s father was part of the scheme, after all? The letter wasn’t signed, but the large amount of money indicated that someone high up on the corporate ladder was involved. She’d have to get this information to Rick. It also meant she’d have to tell Kevin that maybe his father was a monster. Her heart ached.

  Knowing she’d best get out of the office immediately, Cassie resealed the envelope and put it on the desk. Closing the door behind her, she scrambled downstairs to find Kevin. She found him on the front porch still painting the trim around the windows.

  “Hey, Erica,” he said, smiling in her direction. “Feeling better?”

  “Hardly,” Cassie whispered. “I just found an envelope in Dr. Winthrop’s office filled with a ton of mo
ney and Kev, I’m sorry, but it was from your father’s company. What are we going to do? I can’t keep this from Rick, but I also can’t let anything happen to Natalie or her baby. Not to mention the other girls.”

  “I’ll tell Steve,” Kevin said in a surprisingly calm voice. He then hurried away.

  Kevin found Steve in his usual fishing spot and said four words as he passed by—“There’s been a payoff.”

  Steve heard and understood. He calmly reeled in his fishing line and headed for Lori.

  As they drove, Steve relayed to Lori the information about Kevin’s suspicion. Lori knew what that meant—tonight’s surveillance would again include Steve once Rick learned of the news. He wouldn’t chance being there without immediate backup.

  Neither Steve nor Lori were surprised when they opened the beach house door to find Rick sitting at the table leafing through a magazine. He had, after all, been sleeping for a whole two hours.

  Steve sat at the table and waited for Rick to look up at him. The man was in a much better mood and Steve wasn’t happy being the one who was about to destroy it. “Rick,” he said softly, but Rick still hadn’t looked up from his magazine. Steve continued, “Cassie…”

  Rick’s face shot up as soon as he heard her name. “What.” Another question followed, also sounding like a statement. “What’s the matter?”

  “Nothing’s definite, but she thinks one of the doctors may not be what he seems.”

  “You going to explain that?” Rick barked. He looked at Lori. “Well?”

  Exchanging looks with Steve, Lori sighed. “Cassie thinks Dr. Winthrop is in cahoots with someone at Williams Pharmaceuticals and we didn’t want to tell you because you’ll be a pain in the neck the rest of the afternoon and Steve needs to sleep.”

  Rick stood up so fast that the chair wobbled behind him. “Fine, let Steve sleep. Give me the keys.” Rick reached toward her fully expecting the keys to be handed to him. “Lori!”

  “No, Rick!” Steve yelled. “She’s not letting you go anywhere and neither am I. Sit down. I said sit down!”